The city of Waterbury, along with parts of neighboring towns, is without potable water after a major water main failure on Friday night.
A transmission main failed around 11 p.m. on Friday as crews were continuing work on a water main break on Thomasson Avenue that had occurred on Wednesday, according to Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski.
The transmission main is a critical component that provides water from a nearby treatment facility to the city. Bradley Malay, Waterbury’s superintendent of water, said the initial main that failed on Wednesday is from 1901 and the transmission main is from 1907.
“Waterbury does average 30 to 40 breaks per year, most of the time they are not on the two transmission mains,” Malay said. “Most of the time the breaks are on much smaller mains that are quickly fixed. Our treatment plant is relatively far away and that water is pumped, so by the time it gets to Waterbury, we’re very close to 200 pounds of pressure in a lot of our mains.
“Age along with the fertility of those pipes, it doesn’t take a lot for those pipes to let go. Frost heave, road construction or anything that upsets the bedding of the pipe, and where the pipe lives in the ground, can cause a break.” Malay said. “It’s a culmination of a lot of factors that play into the number of breaks we do have.
“We do have a plan to fix our valves,” Malay said. “This year alone we put nearly $30 million into our system to try and upgrade some of the critical infrastructure in our system. Moving forward, we will continue to make that investment to try and mitigate this problem in the future.”
The mayor said Saturday crews had not yet assessed the damage from Friday’s failure. A bypass line has been established to carry water to around 25% of the city, but that water is not safe to drink or make food with, according to Pernerewski.
“The low lying areas of the city now have some water pressure in place now,” Pernerewski said. “Because the pressure dropped across the city last night, you should not drink the water until we have had it tested. In the meantime, the only way you can consume it if is you boil it.
“We are looking at trying to isolate the water system at Huntington Avenue, which would allow us to re-energize the Bunker Hill area, also affecting Waterbury Hospital. That would also allow water to drain out of the pit where the failure occurred so we can analyze better what happened there and how to repair it. As of now, there is still water in there and backing up to the rest of the system,” Pernerewski said.
Parts of neighboring towns, including Watertown, Wolcott and Prospect, were also affected by the break.
A boil water advisory has been issued for the entire city along with the affected areas, requiring residents without water to boil all tap water for consumption and cooking until further notice. As part of the advisory, restaurants in the area cannot prepare food, according to city health officials. Only pre-packaged food may be served.
In addition, the mayor said that Waterbury public schools will be closed on Monday.
The break is also affecting hospitals in the city. Waterbury Hospital, the city’s largest medical facility, has some reserve water in tanks but that water is being depleted, according to Pernerewski. He said a tanker with potable water was at the hospital Saturday morning. Saint Mary’s Hospital currently does not have water, but the city was working on getting a tanker to the hospital.
Both hospitals are only conducting emergency surgeries and have canceled all non-emergency operations, according to the city officials. Saint Mary’s Hospital is diverting patients to nearby Waterbury Hospital for treatment, the mayor said. Waterbury officials said the state brought in several tankers filled with water to distribute to area hospitals and nursing homes.
Pernerewski said Saturday morning he has declared a state of emergency and is working with Gov. Ned Lamont to get state-level assistance with water distribution and pipe repairs.
“The first thing we go to do is shut off that water at the point of failure so we can get in and see the nature of the damage,” Lamont said at a press conference on Saturday.
“But Waterbury is not waiting to get to the diagnosis, they already ordered up a variety of parts necessary to be able to take care of this,” he said. “We really are working hard to prioritize the most vulnerable. That starts with our hospitals, making sure they have the support. Nursing homes are next up making sure they have the spare water and pressure they need.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].